UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema says the gazetting of amendments to Bill 10 by Justice Minister Given Lubinda was unconstitutional and illegal.

And Hichilema says Article 52, which seeks to allow President Edgar Lungu to run for a third term, was not deleted.

Speaking at an Opposition Alliance briefing, Thursday, Hichilema said Lubinda’s decision to gazette amendments was aimed at cheating people.

“The issue of the gazetting of Bill 10 which is a facade, camouflage by Given, I am not really sure if Given still has relatives that respect him because if there were there, they would have told him behind closed doors that you are committing suicide. That gazetting was a camouflage to cheat the people of Zambia that there was a consultative process, a public opinion generated therefore, there was support towards Bill 10, bufi, boza (lies). That gazetting is what I call last minute consideration. Gazetting of Bill 10, striking out a few paragraphs purporting that they have amended the contentious clauses. The clauses are over 70 and you delete 10 or 11 or so and you say you have amended Bill 10, aikhona (no). Bill 10 has not been amended; it is what it was because the law does not allow what Lubinda did. It is unprocedural, it is illegal. It is unconstitutional,” Hichilema said.

“To rub it in so that no one says ‘what did the alliance say, what did HH say?’ What Lubinda did offends Article 77 of our Constitution which was amended in 2016 it does not allow what Lubinda did. He claimed that there was a Parliamentary procedure that he used. On that score too, he has been caught. People have seen you.”

Hichilema said only a few corrupt people would survive under the PF if the ruling party was to be re-elected.

“When you look at the pain you have gone through under PF, who will survive under PF in the next five or 10 years? Only a small corrupt number of people. Is that what you want by allowing Bill 10 to go through so that PF stays in power? And kill our youths? To take away education opportunities? Takes away your jobs, takes away your business opportunities? You will find those who are getting contracts are PF cliques the rest of the Zambians are excluded from timber, from mining. Who gets the timber license? It is foreigners, be it Chinese, be it American, it is foreigners we don’t want that. If you allow this bill as citizens to go through, it means that you are signing a warrant where you will have no contract, it means you will have no job, that is what is at stake,” said Hichilema.